Tag Archives: alcatraz plants

Before volunteering at Alcatraz, I worked at a summer camp in Maine that emphasized teaching ecology and sustainability to elementary and middle school aged students. After ten weeks of running around in the sun and eating lobster every Thursday I found myself asking the question that many college students find themselves asking after graduation, “So, now what?”. I began searching for jobs in the Bay Area and soon discovered that I needed more experience. A friend of mine suggested to look for an internship using volunteer.org; this is where I found the post about volunteering on Alcatraz. I thought to myself I could help with gardening (one of my favorite activities), volunteer (this means experience), and look for jobs at the same time. It seemed like a win-win situation.

One of the first sights of the Golden Gate Bridge after a rainy day while volunteering on Alcatraz. Photo by Josefina Pacheco.

I contacted Shelagh about volunteering in September 2016. In early October, I was given the unique opportunity to apply for the intern position at Alcatraz. After a cover letter, resume, and interview I became Alcatraz’s newest intern. As an intern I now get to go on the ferry five days of the week (yay!). Twice a week I work with the volunteers which usually starts off with answering the question “So, what are we doing today?”. I then quickly take attendance and work alongside the volunteers for the day’s project for the remainder of the morning. On the other days of the week, I work one-on-one with Shelagh. The day’s schedule varies day by day but some of the more notable ‘behind the scenes’ projects include: learning to prune roses, learning to transfer seedlings to planting pots, propagating succulents, assist with leading volunteer groups, and taking pictures of the watercolor paintings from the Alcatraz Florilegium next to the actual flowers from Alcatraz. Additionally as an intern, I’m learning in greater depth about gardening and plant maintenance in general, along with gardening specifically on Alcatraz and its history.

A watercolor painting of a chasmanthe from the Alcatraz Florilegium next to a chasmanthe near the West Side Lawn. (The notable Gardens of Alcatraz burgundy sweatshirt can be seen attempting to blend in with the background). Photo by Shelagh Fritz.

To help learn the names of the plants of Alcatraz I take pictures of them and then add their names to the image. For example here is an image of muscari which is often called grape hyacinth in Officers’ Row. Photo taken and edited by Josefina Pacheco.

What many people don’t know is that as an intern one gets a stipend and housing at (one of the most breathtaking places) the Marin Headlands. At the Headlands, other interns from other parts of the Park live there as well. To help meet even more interns, specifically those in the Presidio, there are monthly intern swaps. At a swap, interns get to go to another park site and volunteer there for a day (so far I’ve only participated in the Milagra Ridge intern swap where I planted native grasses). To further enhance your knowledge there are Park Academy Classes held a couple times a month. The topics range from botany to fire management to leadership training. Being able to meet new people, volunteer at different parks, and learn more about whatever topic you want to learn more about makes this an incredible experience.

A stunning sunrise at the Marin Headlands on February 1. Photo by Josefina Pacheco.

At first I was a little nervous about the transition from volunteer to intern but everyone (staff and volunteers) have been really helpful and supportive, so thank you and I’m looking forward to seeing the gardens through the seasons!

The February blues on Alcatraz are anything but blah. The range of bluish purple flowers in the gardens is very rich and complements many of the orange and yellow blooming plants.

Just on our small island, there are a number of plants in bloom right now in the same shades.

Echium candicans, pride of Madeira,

Pride of Madeira, Echium candican. Photo by Shelagh Fritz

has been blooming for over a month now, mainly on the west side of the island where they are loved by hummingbirds. A survivor garden plant, one seed landed by chance in the rose terrace, right alongside another survivor, Muscari

Grape hyacinth. Photo by Shelagh Fritz

armeniacum, grape hyacinth. Seeing the same shade of purple blue but in drastically different plants adds to the richness of the garden. The seedpods Muscari can be left to stand to add more interest to the garden, plus they also multiply themselves.

Vinca major, periwinkle, is another survivor in bloom now. This common groundcover is often forgotten as it is pretty common to see, and can even spread itself into places you rather it not go. When photographed against yellow lichen on a concrete wall, it really does catch your eye.

Periwinkle. Photo by Shelagh Fritz

Our dutch iris, ones that grow from a bulb instead of a rhizome, are just beginning to flower on the rose terrace. A few original bulbs were found growing in this garden so we planted more of ‘Sapphire Beauty’ in a raised bed in front of the greenhouse. The yellow flame looks great with California poppy and yellow Calendula or daffodils.

Dutch iris ‘Sapphire Beauty’. Photo by Shelagh Fritz

A new plant for Alcatraz is the native California lilac, Ceanothus. This shrub has many cultivars and we chose ‘Julia Phelps’, that will hopefully reach its full size of 7′ tall and 9′ wide. The flowers are a dark indigo color and this cultivar is suppose to be one of the best bloomers. We planted it at the top of the cellhouse slope and even with the sparse rain this winter, it is already blooming. Perhaps one negative for this plant is that we are also noticing seagull feathers collecting on the leaves. But, the dark blue flowers will look great with the pink persian carpet.